Kitty Will
On Thursday morning, I noticed that the cat had been a bit lethargic and thought I might take him to the vet this weekend. But by the time we got home from work, we found Will struggling to breathe. He responded very well when Mike and I started petting him, so we kept him close and watched him. Ellis at one point shouted, "I know!" Then she ran to her toys and brought back her baby doll, gave it to the cat and said, "Here you go, Kitty Will. Here is a friend to make you feel better." She spent some time petting him and telling him it would be okay. 
(Will looking over a newborn Ellis.)
Unfortunately, he kept struggling to breathe and, when Mike took him to the animal hospital, he only made it for about 30 minutes. The veterinarian said this sort of problem is usually caused by blunt trauma but there didn't appear to be any other evidence of it. So she suggested it might be a congenital defect, a tumor or some sort of infection. Point is, we don't know -- and he was only 4-1/2 years old. It could be related to the bite he got earlier in the year. The animal hospital gave us Wilmington's paw print in clay with a heart and his name on it, which turned out to be key to helping Ellis deal with losing him.
This post is to remember Kitty Will and how sweet he was. He was also a little crazy, but he was a nice guy and very good to all of us. Here he is napping with Ellis and comforting her when she got sick.
Ellis took the bad news pretty well, though she had been very upset that Mike took the cat away. And we decided to wait until the next night to tell her what happened, since we didn't think it was a good idea to talk about death and then drop her off at daycare.
We told her that the kitty's body stopped working and he died. We explained that when someone dies, it means they don't eat, drink or move anymore. But, we said, Will was so sad that he couldn't come home to Ellis that he sent her a present to remember him (the paw print). Ellis slept with the print last night and has kept it close ever since. When comforting her, I got a little upset and Ellis ended up comforting me. She said, "I'm sorry Mommy, but Kitty Will can't come home anymore."
We will miss you, Kitty Will.
(Will looking over a newborn Ellis.)
Unfortunately, he kept struggling to breathe and, when Mike took him to the animal hospital, he only made it for about 30 minutes. The veterinarian said this sort of problem is usually caused by blunt trauma but there didn't appear to be any other evidence of it. So she suggested it might be a congenital defect, a tumor or some sort of infection. Point is, we don't know -- and he was only 4-1/2 years old. It could be related to the bite he got earlier in the year. The animal hospital gave us Wilmington's paw print in clay with a heart and his name on it, which turned out to be key to helping Ellis deal with losing him.
This post is to remember Kitty Will and how sweet he was. He was also a little crazy, but he was a nice guy and very good to all of us. Here he is napping with Ellis and comforting her when she got sick.
Ellis took the bad news pretty well, though she had been very upset that Mike took the cat away. And we decided to wait until the next night to tell her what happened, since we didn't think it was a good idea to talk about death and then drop her off at daycare.We told her that the kitty's body stopped working and he died. We explained that when someone dies, it means they don't eat, drink or move anymore. But, we said, Will was so sad that he couldn't come home to Ellis that he sent her a present to remember him (the paw print). Ellis slept with the print last night and has kept it close ever since. When comforting her, I got a little upset and Ellis ended up comforting me. She said, "I'm sorry Mommy, but Kitty Will can't come home anymore."
We will miss you, Kitty Will.
Comments
( and also Kitty Bear - wherever she may be).